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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fall · game · pitch · spell · march · bass · staff · wax

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. wax — to grow
  5. staff — employees
  6. fall — to drop
  7. spell — letters
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bass — low music
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. march — the month
  13. game — a match
  14. pitch — completely
  15. staff — a stick
  16. staff — employees
  17. game — wild animals
  18. fall — the season
  19. spell — magic
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. march — music
  22. spell — a short time
  23. march — the month
  24. pitch — a sports field

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com